Tuesday, June 30, 2015

I've always wanted to be a Surfer Girl

I've always wanted to be a surfer girl.

It was the Summer of 6th grade. The family was packing up and moving to California. Just before leaving, I laid my first kiss on Bobby at the park. It was dreamy!  I figured what the hell...I'm not ever going to see him ever again anyway. So why not? 

Three months later we moved back. 

California was wonderful! Palm trees and festivals and roads paved of brick. I loved it...perhaps even more than Bobby. It was perfect. 

It wasn't long before I found the surfer boys. Bobby was a drip compared to these guys. One day, some how, I would be a surfer girl. 

That did not happen. 

Many years later I had my son, Derek. I dreamed of moving to California and raising him as a surfer boy. It was going to be perfect. 

Alas, I have a huge family that read me the riot act over the idea of relocation. 

So I stayed. 

Over the years I have admired various water sports and considered them. Thing is, I'm not a fan of the cold, and water sports in Chicago left much to be desired. 

Then I met Jon. 

We fell in love and got married. With the 5 kids between us, it did not look promising to land my Cali Zip Code. 

And then it happened! 

We were vacationing in Siesta Key, FL and I stumbled into a surf board shop. I was delighted to find skate boards! These were not your average, run in the mill skate boards...these were art on wheels, and I wanted one!  

Small snag. As a forty year old woman, I was cautioned by my loved ones that I would surely fall and die while skateboarding. At the very least look like an ass experiencing a midlife crisis. The latter was of no concern to me. 

As we were driving back to Sarasota, I saw my first SUPer (Stand up paddle boarder.) I'll do that!  

Sort of like surfing...right?

Time passed and I forgot about it. One day I was at Lifetime Fitness and low and behold there was a life sized ad for....you guessed it...SUP!!! A childlike excitement arose. 

I started seeing pictures on Facebook of the SUPers. To be honest, I quickly grew apprehensive. That looked hard! Not to mention my fellow Yogis doing head stands on them! Hmmmm

Finally, last month, we went on a cruise and I got to try my hand at SUP in Cozumel. I was hooked! I decided right then I was going to be a SUPer!

I own a small yoga studio with a handful of instructors. I love them. Come to find out...one of them is a SUPer! I invited her for tea. "Let's do a yoga retreat and offer SUP lessons" I cooed. The idea was met with enthusiasm!  Come next month, I'll be on a board near Starved Rock!

Remember those SUP lessons at the gym? I signed up for them today. And I am more elated than when I laid that kiss on Bobby in the 6th grade!

I'm going to be a Sur-Ph-Ur girl...after all :) 








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